The Miz Says He Didn't Want to Turn Babyface, But Changed Thanks to the Fans

For the vast majority of his wrestling career, The Miz spent his time on WWE television as a despicable heel. The former WWE Champion truly hit his stride as a heel after Wrestlemania 32, where he began incorporating more aspects of his "A-Lister" while also having a stranglehold over the Intercontinental Championship and having his wife Maryse by his side. But over the past couple of years a funny thing happened — Miz kept being a heel, but fans started cheering more and more for him. It finally came to a head leading up to WrestleMania 35, where Miz gradually turned babyface while aligning himself with Shane McMahon to become a tag team, only for McMahon to turn heel and betray both Miz and his father George.

Miz and McMahon wound up fighting in a Falls Count Anywhere match, and while the latter won in questionable fashion the two have continued to attack each other week after week on WWE television, with Miz getting overwhelming positive support from the fans.

In a new interview with Newsweek, Miz admitted that he didn't initially want to turn back in a babyface (he had a brief run as a face several years back that fizzled out), but that the crowd forced his hand.

"You know, it's one of those things where I didn't want it to happen but it kinda just happened organically," Miz said. "And Maryse always tells me 'listen, when it happens organically you just let it go and do it. And if people are liking you so be it.' Now I have to get used to it and I'm not right now. Right now I'm just enjoying myself and feed off the audience. That's what we do as WWE Superstars, if I want the crowd to boo me I know exactly how I'll do that and luckily I've been doing this so long that if the crowd wants to cheer me I know how to make them cheer me louder. Now that [the crowd] is doing it organically and they like me, it's amazing. The villain has become the good guy."

McMahon and Miz will meet in a Steel Cage match at Money in the Bank on My 19.

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